Here is the latest COVID-19 vaccine status for Akron area hospitals
Hospitals in the Akron area said on Tuesday they all complied with a federal mandate requiring at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for workers or a qualified exemption.
The health systems also placed employees who denied the shot or did not get exemption on unpaid leave.
A mandate issued by the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services and maintained last month of the U.S. Supreme Court required that health care professionals receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by February 14 and the other of a two-dose vaccine by March 15.
Hospitals that do not comply with the federal mandate can risk large fines.
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Hospitals that granted religious or medical exemptions to staff for the vaccine were not required by federal rules to require these unvaccinated staff to undergo COVID testing.
Here you can see how hospitals with operations in the Akron region manage to meet the COVID-19 vaccination deadlines on 14 February and 15 March. All health systems were asked to share data on the number or percentage of employees vaccinated, with religious or medical exceptions, in compliance and on leave or dismissal. Not all healthcare systems responded with the desired data.
Akron Children’s Hospital
Akron Children’s Hospital set its own deadline of January 11 for the first dose. At the time, the hospital housed an unknown number of staff who did not receive the vaccine or were exempted from unpaid leave.
On February 4, Chief Operating Officer Lisa Aurilio said 66 or less than 1% of its staff had not complied with the vaccine mandate.
Vaccines against covid-19:Akron Children places employees who did not receive the COVID-19 vaccine on unpaid leave
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Children’s did not provide further or updated information about its employees and the mandate on Tuesday. In December, the hospital said 80% of its staff had been vaccinated. A spokeswoman said exempt employees would be required to undergo regular COVID tests.
Cleveland Clinic Akron General
That The Cleveland Clinic, with activities nationwide and internationally, set a date for January 27 for workers to receive at least one dose of a COVID vaccine and the second dose by 28 February.
The clinic has not erupted vaccination rates for individual hospital staff, but in early January, the vaccination rate said 85%.
After the January 27 deadline, the clinic said 751 employees across the entire system out of 65,000 in the U.S. were put on unpaid leave. On February 4, the clinic said the number had dropped to 450 and it is now at 250.
“The Cleveland Clinic is proud that the vast majority of our caregivers chose to abide by the mandate,” the Cleveland-based health care system said in a statement Tuesday. “More than 99% of our more than 65,000 U.S. employees complied with the CMS rule by either receiving the vaccine or obtaining an approved dispensation. Employees who were not complied with were put on unpaid leave after the January 27 deadline. Since then, we are actively working with our relatives who are on leave to encourage them to return.Currently, approximately 250 employees across the U.S. are incompatible.Employees who have received a first dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, must receive their second dose before 28 February in order to remain consistent.
The Cleveland Clinic hospital system includes Akron General, Medina Hospital and Mercy Hospital in Canton.
A spokeswoman for the Cleveland Clinic Akron said there are no test requirements for employees who have received exemptions. Even after the February 28 deadline, any employee who is not fully vaccinated or who does not have a dispensation who chooses to be vaccinated can return if their job is still vacant, the spokeswoman said.
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Crystal Clinic Orthopedic Center
On Tuesday, the Crystal Clinic Orhopaedic Center, with surgeries through Summit County and a new hospital in Bath, delivered the following numbers:
- Three employees are non-compliant and one contract employee is non-compliant. “They were not terminated and have been put on leave,” said Holli Cholley, chief nurse and chief of operations.
- Approximately 82% of Crystal Clinic’s employees are vaccinated.
- Crystal Clinic approved 6 medical exemptions / exemptions and 125 religious exemptions. This is approximately 13% of Crystal Clinic employees, Cholley said.
- There is no requirement for testing of exempt employees.
Sum
Total Health was the first hospital in the Akron area to set its deadline for staff and contractors to be fully vaccinated by 31 October. last year or facing termination.
Summa allowed its employees to continue working after the October 31 deadline while going through the disciplinary process. Initially, 180, or 2% of employees, were not in compliance and seven were eventually fired in late November or early December for refusing the COVID vaccine.
On Tuesday, a spokesman said the health care system does not require testing of exempt employees “given our strict adherence to CDC guidelines on masking, social distancing, etc.”
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University hospitals
Cleveland-based university hospitals, with offices throughout Summit County and a hospital in Ravenna, have not indicated how many of its relatives have been vaccinated. UH issued a statement Tuesday calling for vaccinations.
“Since the vaccine became available at the end of 2020, we have encouraged our relatives to be vaccinated and made vaccines readily available to them. The vast majority of them have been vaccinated and we are all grateful for their service during this challenging time. . “
Western Reserve Hospital
Cuyahoga Falls-based Western Reserve Hospital did not provide updated data on Tuesday, but said on February 4 that it had a 96% COVID vaccination rate.
On Tuesday, the hospital said: “Western Reserve Hospital is in full compliance with the federal healthcare staff’s vaccination requirements, requiring our staff to submit validation of either the first dose of a two-dose vaccination series or the single-dose vaccination by 12.00 on 14 February 2022 “Employees who did not comply with this policy were put on leave on February 14, 2022.”
Beacon Journal employee reporter Betty Lin-Fisher can be contacted at 330-996-3724 or [email protected] Follow her @blinfisherABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/BettyLinFisherABJ